A truly positive person with a desire to make the best out of a bad situation, Robyn Schmigelski was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the age of 28, an inflammatory bowel disease, and put on mild medication. While she went for a long time without symptoms, in the past 5 years or so, the symptoms started to increase. To try to control her symptoms, Robyn began looking into the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), designed for people with inflammatory bowel disease. This was a turning point in her life in many ways. Aside from her health, something that Robyn gained from this was a passion for cooking and creating interesting and new recipes!
Robyn started to learn more about her condition by reading “Breaking the Vicious Cycle”, by Elaine Gottschall. This book taught Robyn everything she needed to know about SCD, and how she could still be creative, even with a limited diet. Instead of feeling deprived of prohibited ingredients, Robyn learned to embrace fun and creative recipes, including some of her favorites – a 24-hour yogurt full of probiotics and a special coffee drink made with a non-dairy creamy “butter” blended with honey.
As somebody who suffers from Crohn’s, she has been able to help others cope with the disease and has provided unconditional support. Robyn Schmigelski is a lawyer in Melville, NY, and is heavily involved in legal issues surrounding disability and employment having dealt with this disease almost her entire adult life. It is important that we fight for those who are sick and lacking legal support. Robyn’s son was also recently diagnosed with Crohn’s, and she’s been teaching him how to make the most out of a limited diet. She’s also involved in Facebook groups for SCD and people with Crohn’s, where she enjoys the camaraderie of others dealing with the disease, shares recipes with those who are suffering from Crohn’s or have children with the disease and ultimately learns from these groups as well.
In addition to her passion for creative cooking and helping those with Crohn’s deal with the disease, Robyn Schmigelski firmly believes in giving back to her community. She has volunteered at her local synagogue, where she was the chairperson for social action for three years. In addition, she joined forces with another congregant and created the “Adopt a Family” program where families of the nursery school students would ‘adopt’ lower income families from outside of the synagogue and provide them with such things as non-perishable food and household items. At Chanukah and birthdays, the students donated special gifts requested by the families. Robyn also created the “Pick A Dreidel” project matching congregants with specific gifts requested by local needy families. The project, still going strong almost ten years later, has resulted in approximately 125 gifts donated each year.
Robyn has served her local community of Melville, NY in other ways as well. Throughout the community, she’s known as the go-to person to answer questions such as how to volunteer at soup kitchens or where to donate clothes. Passionate about making the volunteer experience meaningful for young people, Robyn Schmigelski offers her time to match a potential volunteer with a community service project based on the specific interests and personality of the volunteer. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which devastated the tri-state region, Robyn and a fellow Melville Mom organized a community bike drive for people whose bikes were either destroyed or washed away. By the end of it, they had collected about 100 bikes.
